PubReader™

The PubReader view is an alternative web presentation that offers another, more
reader-friendly way to read literature in PMC and Bookshelf. Designed particularly for
enhancing readability on tablet and other small screen devices, PubReader can also be used
on desktops and laptops and from multiple web browsers. To try out the PubReader view, take
a look below.

Try out the PubReader view

In PMC

This is a presentation for any article that is available in full-text HTML form. It
is not available for older content in PDF format only or as scanned images
of the original print pages. You can get to the PubReader view directly from an article
citation in a search result list or an issue table of contents:

Or from the Formats links in the top right corner of an article page in PMC:

Switching between the PubReader view and the classic view

In PMC

If you are in the PubReader view of an article, and would like to switch to the classic
view, tap or click the Alternative formats icon or the Settings icon in the toolbar at the
top. Then select the “classic view” from either of these menus. (See image below.)

PMC now automatically directs certain users to the PubReader view:

everyone using PMC on a tablet or mobile device, and

a small, randomly selected sample of people using PMC on a desktop or laptop.

If you are taken to the PubReader view automatically and you choose to go back to the
classic view as described above, PMC will remember your preference and automatically take you
to the classic view in the future. You can also get to the classic view by clicking on the
“Article” link for an item in a PMC search result or in the issue table of contents page.

Similarly, you can make PubReader your default view again by clicking on the “PubReader”
link in a search result, a table of contents, or at the top of a classic-view article page.
(Note that this preference setting works only if your browser accepts cookies.)

If you use multiple browsers or devices to access PMC, the default-view setting will be
specific to each browser on each device that you use.

In Bookshelf

You can go back to classic view from the Settings menu (gear icon) (Switch to classic view).
Bookshelf will remember your preference and the next time you try to access the content,
you will be taken to classic view. The default setting is specific to the browser you are
using.

Technical Details

We start with the XML version of an article (or book chapter) and use XSLT to convert it into an HTML
document. We then add CSS and JavaScript (JS) to implement the formatting, paging, navigation,
text reflowing and other dynamic features. This, essentially, is the way we have created the
traditional web view. The difference now is that we are able to take
advantage of features and functions that are available only in the latest versions of the
underlying technologies (HTML5 and CSS3).

The CSS and JS code used to create a PubReader presentation is available at the GitHub
repository NCBITools/PubReader. Anyone can
use or adapt it to display journal articles or other content that is structured as an HTML5
document.